


The (Other) Collector

by UltraKart



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Gen, Mouse Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Multimouse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-18
Updated: 2020-09-18
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:54:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26125315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UltraKart/pseuds/UltraKart
Summary: If not for the Gorilla bending the rules, Adrien would hardly see his friends outside of school.The big guy deserves more than just their gratitude, so Marinette tries an unorthodox method to send him a little love.
Comments: 12
Kudos: 80





	The (Other) Collector

Marinette had a mission: spy on the Gorilla.

Not that she suspected him of any wrongdoing. The Gorilla really was a sweetheart despite the looks.

During class last week, Adrien mentioned his bodyguard feeling down lately. He was constantly checking his phone, frustrated at _something_ , but Adrien couldn't tell what. He was never much of a conversationalist, so all of Adrien's attempts at simply asking him had fallen flat.

Whatever it was that bothered the Gorilla so much, Marinette wanted to solve it. He'd done Adrien and his friends many favors in the past, so Marinette wanted to give him something in return. If he wasn't going to talk about his problems, then she would have to find another way to help him out.

So here she was, transformed as Multimouse, spying on him from inside a secondhand toy store.

Actually, one Multimouse was keeping watch from a spot on a shelf while another carefully tailed behind him. There were a half-dozen other Multimice waiting at home. They all wanted to come along, but a stealth mission was difficult to coordinate in large numbers. She promised the rest of them that the outing would be a quick one anyway. She wasn't going to pry into his personal life. She was just going to observe, and if his problem was pedestrian enough, then she would find a way to solve it and be done with it.

They had remained undetected so far, but gathering information from a silent giant was proving to be a difficult task.

* * *

Earlier that day, the two Multimice had sneaked into the Gorilla's car as he dropped Adrien off for fencing practice. He left his car to accompany Adrien inside the building, and they found a window that was cracked open and slipped in without anybody noticing.

Or so they thought, until a black blur shot out and knocked one Multimouse off of the dashboard and onto a car seat.

"Ow! What- hey!" Multimouse and the attacker grappled for a few moments before she managed to flip over and hold him down. "What are you... _Plagg!?_ "

A growl began to sound from his tiny chest, but Multimouse held firm. The growl sputtered and died when he finally focused his eyes on her.

"Oh. Sup." Plagg waggled an arm at her. She continued to look down at him, unimpressed.

His head twitched to the side when the other Multimouse jumped down to join them.

"Plagg, what are you doing here?"

He phased through the car seat to get out of her grip and reappeared in front of them.

"I'm here because of..." He struggled to find the right words to say. "Um, cat reasons. Y'know. I'm a cat, and I just can _not_ resist when I sense a mouse nearby. Sorry." He gulped.

Multimouse had no idea how to respond to that.

" _Pleeeeease_ don't tell Chat Noir about this!" He held up his paws in a pleading gesture.

The two Multimice gave each other a look.

"I sorta understand Chat being embarrassed about acting like a cat..." one of them started.

"...but come on, Plagg. You're an _actual cat,_ " the other one finished.

She snorted, and neither girl could contain their laughter anymore at the cat that didn't want to be a cat.

"I am the god of destruction and chaos!" He huffed at them. "I'm not some little kitten that gets distracted by mice."

"You and Chat really are made for each other." The Multimouse to his left wiped tears from her eyes. "Speaking of, if you're here then is _he_ here?"

"Uh..."

"No!" The Multimouse to his right jumped forward and clamped a hand to his mouth. "Don't answer that."

Plagg glanced between the two of them and groaned into her hand.

"Ugh, _this_ is why I don't get along with mice. Look, I have a sharpened sense for cheese and also for prey. No, Chat Noir isn't here." He noticed something move from his peripheral vision. "But you know who _is_ here? It's the Gorilla! Gotta go. See ya, Pigtails!"

Plagg dove through the floor of the car and vanished.

The two mice didn't think twice before scampering underneath the seat to hide.

They could feel the car sink as the Gorilla stepped inside. He started the car but didn't pull away yet; instead he was busy tapping away at his phone.

He scrolled, tapped, scrolled some more, then with a sigh he pocketed his phone and drove away.

With the sound of the engine to cover her voice, Multimouse spoke up.

"What was _that_ about just now? Plagg doesn't eat mice!"

Her partner only shrugged.

"Technically, he's a kwami. And kwamis can eat anything."

"Ugh, you are _not_ helping..." she pouted.

* * *

The Gorilla didn't have to return to work later. Adrien was getting a ride home from Kagami when fencing practice was over, leaving him free for the rest of the day.

His first stop was a secondhand toy store that was on the way home.

He knew they were unlikely to have what he wanted, but figured he would try his luck. He'd found some hidden gems here in the past, after all.

The "mission" hadn't produced any results yet, and Multimouse was suddenly very thankful that the Mouse Miraculous couldn't run out of time and force a detransformation while she was in her tiny state and separated from the rest of her copies.

She sat down and dangled her legs off of the edge of the shelf.

 _Why did I convince myself to do this again?_ she complained to herself. _I could have done the normal thing and written him a card or something... I could have gotten all of our friends to write him a card! But nooooo, I just had to give myself on a "recon" mission that might not even turn up anything. Now I'm stuck here, in a toy store, on a shelf full of broken old... wait, is that...?_

Multimouse properly observed her surroundings for the first time, and she spotted a very recognizable bright red action figure sitting at the corner of the shelf. All of its limbs were bent into uncomfortable positions and it sat face down.

"That is _not_ a good look for me," she mumbled to herself.

She approached the doll and propped it up into a seating position.

It was a Ladybug doll, likely left there earlier by a kid who didn't quite understand how human limbs work. It wasn't in the greatest shape, either. One of the hair ribbons was torn off, the yoyo was missing entirely, and the paint that made up the mask had started to chip off.

She was unnerved both by the tattered condition of the doll and the freaky way it smiled up at her. Furthermore, it was just as big as she was! (Well, she had been shrunken down to _its_ size, but that didn't make the feeling any less bizarre)

Marinette had never really considered purchasing her own merchandise, and this encounter had further solidified that stance for her. She screwed up her face and gave the creepy thing a shove, and it tumbled off of the shelf.

"Ow! Hey, watch it!" came a voice from below.

Multimouse looked down to see her other self standing directly under the shelf. She was no longer following closely behind the Gorilla's feet. She didn't look too happy at being nearly crushed by a doll her size.

"Sorry!" the one up top apologized. "That doll of me... us... whatever. It creeps me out."

The Multimouse on the floor nudged it with her foot so it faced upwards. "Wow, that is not a good look for me."

"That's exactly what I said!"

While they complained about the accursed doll, the Gorilla continued to prowl the floor of the toy store. He had explored most of the front, and was making his way to the rear. The store had plenty of neat stuff, but it just wasn't the place to look for new arrivals. He wasn't really expecting to find anything to add to his collection today, but he had time to kill.

"Come to think of it, nobody ever asked for our permission before making dolls of us. Not that I mind or anything." By now the floor Multimouse had flipped the doll back over to hide its face.

"Yeah. It's actually kind of sweet that kids love these so much! One time I saw this little girl-"

_thud_

The two mice felt the ground shake. Something large cast a shadow over them, and they looked up to see the Gorilla's enormous form.

Floor Multimouse let out a panicked squeak and made an impressive leap and landed in a tub of Lego.

Shelf Multimouse stood up, and her posture stiffened when the Gorilla got even closer. Her jump rope tail was twitching in panic. All of her mouse instincts were telling her to scurry away and hide, but her muscles weren't responding!

He was so close that she could hear him breathe, but he still didn't notice her. He was distracted by a video on his phone.

"-and today we are taking a look at the deluxe edition Mister Bug figure! Handsome little devil, isn't he? Not as handsome as yours truly, of course. But if I'm a ten, then I'd say he's a..."

 _Hey,_ Multimouse didn't need to strain her ears to recognize _that_ voice. _He's watching one of Chat's toy reviews!_

The Gorilla paused mid-step when he noticed something bright red at his feet. He set his phone on the shelf as he bent down to inspect it. Multimouse came back to her senses just in time to dodge his massive hand as he placed his phone where she stood.

He rose again, holding the less than mint condition Ladybug doll in his fist. He brought it close to his face to inspect the damage. The sight gave Multimouse flashbacks to the Gorizilla incident. _That_ hadn't been a pleasant experience for her... or for Adrien.

She was so distracted in her own thoughts that she didn't notice his other hand reaching blindly for his phone. It was too late, and his fist closed around her instead.

"Hrmm?" he grunted when he felt something not phone-shaped in his hand.

Multimouse was petrified. She didn't blink. She didn't breathe. Her face was stuck in a terrified grin, which was only marginally less scary than the expression on the Ladybug doll.

 _Maybe if I hold veeeeery still... he'll lose interest in me and let me go?_ she silently pleaded.

She felt the pressure release as he opened his palm; he leaned in to take a closer look.

 _What is he... oh! He must think I'm a doll!_ She suppressed a sigh of relief.

On the one hand, being mistaken as a doll meant she avoided detection for now. Unlike the other temporary heroes, the public didn't know about Multimouse yet, and she intended to keep it that way. The Mouse gave her a stealth advantage that she might be able to use against Hawk Moth one day.

On the other hand, the Gorilla was quite the fan of dolls. She knew that, considering the number of action figures that Max (and sometimes Alya) had to bribe him with to let everyone visit Adrien inside the mansion.

 _Ok, you had a good look at me. Now pleeeeeeeeease just put me back on the shelf?_ She tried to beam her thoughts into his mind.

He held her in his palm for a few more seconds... then proceeded to the front of the store. He set her down on the glass counter and fished his wallet out of his pocket.

Multimouse tried not to squirm as the cashier lifted her up and flipped her over, looking for a price tag. When he found none, he shrugged and keyed in the price that the other dolls of the same size typically sold for. She was placed into a _Thank You_ plastic bag, and the Gorilla took her away.

The bricks in the tub of Lego shifted, and the other Multimouse popped her head out of the pile. Only when she didn't feel the Gorilla's footsteps nearby did she fully resurface and hop out.

She scanned her surroundings, looking for where he went. She found him leaving the store holding a bag. Light shone through the thin plastic, and she saw a silhouette of a doll with hair buns that looked just like hers.

 _Hold up..._ She squinted her eyes. _That's me!_

She sprinted as fast as her little legs could take her and barely managed to slip through the door before it closed.

Multimouse caught up with the Gorilla as he entered the car. She crawled underneath and clung onto the undercarriage just as soon as he stepped on the gas and sped off.

* * *

The ride to the Gorilla's home wasn't a long one. (Gabriel necessitated hiring a bodyguard that lived close to the mansion)

He stepped out of the car with the newest addition to his collection in hand.

Multimouse wasn't scared of the Gorilla. By this point, she was annoyed at _herself_ more than anything. Her "mission" to find a way to cheer him up had become a massive waste of time.

She felt the plastic bag around her swing back and forth as he walked. He eventually stopped, and so did the swinging.

With a gentle hand he reached inside, pulled her out by the arm, then set her in front of a large rectangular... something.

The Gorilla did a satisfied little nod, then padded away to another room.

Once the coast was clear, Multimouse got up and examined her new environment.

She first looked to her feet, and noticed that she was standing on a sheet of cardboard that had an asphalt texture printed onto it. The large rectangular form directly in front of her was a building also made of cardboard. She craned her neck around and quickly realized that she was in the middle of an entire _city_ of cardboard.

And she wasn't alone in the city. On top of a building a block away stood a Chat Noir doll. Well, _crouched_ was more appropriate. He was bent down in a pose that suggested he was getting ready to spring up. Ladybug had one foot on his back, as if she was getting ready to launch herself off of Chat Noir.

Multimouse clambered on top of the cardboard to get a closer look, and she recognized the pose as that of the commemorative statue of Ladybug and Chat Noir that was unveiled earlier that year.

 _Wow, it must have been annoying to get these dolls to stand up like that without falling over._ Her head tilted as she thought. _I really should find where the other mini-me went and just get out of here, but...?_

Against her better judgement, she found herself exploring the city further.

She scaled the largest cardboard box and took a look at the cityscape below. With the extra height, she was able to spot different black figure lounging on another rooftop.

_I wonder who could that be?_

She hopped down to its level, and instantly recognized the signature elongated braid that was lazily sprawled on the rooftop. It was a doll of Lady Noire, and she was currently basking in the sun like, well, a cat.

This doll was a newer release than the others that occupied the city. The face was painted on with a noticeably greater amount of detail.

"Now _that's_ a good look for me!" came a voice from somewhere.

Multimouse flinched, but quickly calmed when she saw her other self sitting on a nearby building.

"I have to admit, I _did_ look pretty good as a cat. Is it weird that it feels wrong saying that? Considering..." She gestured to herself.

"Eh, whatever. We look great either way. I'm sure _Mister Bug_ would agree."

The two of them snorted in sync.

Mister Bug certainly wouldn't object to doing another swap, and Chat Noir would probably have a little _too_ much fun if he was partnered with a mouse.

"Speaking of, where is he anyway? Does the Gorilla not have a matching Mister Bug for his Lady Noire?" The Multimouse from the other building pointed at the lounging doll.

"Nope." She shook her head. "I explored around here before you got here, and I haven't seen anything."

"Boo." Her double yawned and sprawled herself on the rooftop to match Lady Noire.

Multimouse should really just leave, but she examined Lady Noire below her for a bit longer. Suddenly, her vision narrowed in on the doll. Then she looked up and focused on the Ladybug and Chat Noir duo over in the distance. She had an epiphany.

"That's it!" She punched her fist into her palm.

"What's it?" Her double sat up on her elbows.

"I think I know why the Gorilla is so grumpy. I'll tell you in a bit, let's get out of here first."

* * *

A week and a half had passed since the Gorilla had purchased (and immediately misplaced) the little mouse doll.

On the bright side, he didn't lose anything collectible. At least, he didn't _think_ it was a collectible. His research on the internet had turned up with no results. Nobody had heard of the Mouse Miraculous, or if such a thing even existed. But he didn't just buy things because they were collectible; the doll was a cute little thing. It would have looked great posed next to Lady Noire. If he could _just_ remember where he put it...

He didn't have time to ponder that any further, however. It was time for him to leave for work.

The Gorilla opened the door, and his eyes were immediately drawn to a package sealed in red and black spotted giftwrap. Curiously, he scooped it up in his massive hands and brought it back inside with him. He decided he could afford to pick up Adrien a little bit late today.

He moved to sit on the couch. Carefully, he removed the giftwrap to reveal a shoebox. He lifted the lid of the shoebox and found two items inside: a brand new in box deluxe edition Mister Bug doll, and a hand-stitched plushie of the mysterious mouse hero.

Any of his neighbors that weren't awake yet suddenly became very aware of what an ecstatic gorilla sounded like.

To say that the he was happy was a severe understatement. For the rest of the day, he had a a pleasant smile stuck on his face. Not even Gabriel's chastisement for him arriving two minutes late could bring down his mood.

For all his mass, the Gorilla really did feel as if he was walking on air.

**Author's Note:**

> For those of you wondering about the size of Multimouse, I just assumed that she can decide how small she needs to shrink. So she's the size of an action figure and not, like, a thumb.  
> I hope we see more of her in season 4. Just in terms of design, Multimouse and Dragonbug are my favorite forms for Marinette.


End file.
